--------------------------------------------------------------------------palal:
concept: siadamahakavikiki turtle ("b- class movie/ mr. radar from the moon vs godzilla" style description
The siadamahakavikiki tutrles are very fragile animals in the first days of there life. they used to be eaten, by the bigger ines or mecha godzillas. There only way to survive, was to attack their opponents whith their horrible destructive voice(hdv)[ths is just so stupid]. Unfortunatelly the hdv of small siadamahakavikiki turtles was to weak to destroy big mecha- turtles. they could only destroy them by working in pairs. [br carefull- the best moment] So the formal leader of the turtles- Kasadahikuhiku- asked one of the gods, if he could fast forward the evolution. And so it happened- the siadamahakavikiki turtels gained two more heads instead of legs. Now, in their early years, their weak hdv was 3 times stronger. When the siadamahakavikiki got older, he was better in making the hdv, and didn't need his 2 brothers. Because they are used as legs, the die when they are about 3 years old. [this is getting more godzilla style the ever ]. The god while evolving the siadamahakavikiki turtles gived every head 1/3 of there old brain, so after leg- heads die, do dies 2/3 of the brain and the head-head gest really stupid (almost as stupid as this story). Usually it makes some syupid decision in his life and dies shortly, after the death of his 2 brothers.http://69.56.199.195/prace/download/178302.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------young paddy1:
concept: 'Pennepotenti Procella Ire'
The Lightning Hawk as it was originally known by the gasminers of Accido used three specially modified groups of muscles to create giant static discharges, these were the birdlike creatures main means of catching prey. Thhe world of Accido is bisected around its equator by a ridge of extremely high mountains which completely separate the methan rich atmosphere of the south from the oxygen rich north, every year the Thunderbirds (as someone far more into suermarrionation than ancient Native American culture renamed them) would travel south to the ridge to dig nesting burrows into the ridge. Just before summer 2502 E.S. a skymine's fusion plant failed and crashed into the ridge smashing away the weakened top along a line of burrows. The methane and oxygen mixture was ignited two days later by a Thunderbird arriving early for mating season, the atmosphere ignited, killing all life on the planet as well as 400 gasminers in the resultant inferno.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...hunderbird.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------hallo:
concept: Sarssar
The Sarssars lived during the period of the Great Glacial Age, when the vast plains of their home planet were covered by a thick (up to 30ft.) layer of snow.
Spending most of their time below the snowy surface, they developed special gills through which they could suck in the adjacent snow and filter out the oxygen from the melting product. With their short but strong legs, and feet featuring a thick membrane between the fingers they could easily dig tunnels into the snow.
To hunt down prey, a Sarssar would lie right beneath the snow surface. Its headplate and turtle-like back, looking like some moss-covered rocks, lured small animals in search for food. As soon as its victim was close enough, a quick movement of the neck was all it took the Sarssar to bite and kill the unsuspecting animal.
400-years of constant heating-up of the their home planet caused the snowfields to melt away and led to the Sarssars' extinction.http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y29...EvoDeadEnd.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------MIKECORRIERO:
concept: Bottom Feeders
These creatures have no known defesive mechanism as their bone structure has become so weak. Thier forearms are actually bending and curving over time as they become older since the weight of thier bodies is too much for thier malnutritioned structures. They only feed off of the ground since they are too slow to chase prey and lack any teeth other than a short suction-like mouth. They move about as quick as your average sloth and often can be found with toxic bulb spice ( a meat feeding plant) stuck to thier bodies. The bottom feeders will sometimes spend a day or two in one spot filtering through sand and loose dirt for nutrients, the problem is that they dont obtain enough food between thier size and the fact that the bulb spice suck the blood from thier sickly bodies similar to leeches. Thier eyes have evolved to face downward since most of thier time they spend looking at the ground through which thier filtering for food. This had made thier eye site Very poor.
Bottom feeders future: They evolve to become the slowest mammal every known, so slow that they cant even perform sex, thus their species dies out.http://sketchforums.com/uploads/post-11-1117613478.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------AndrewLey:
concept: The Fortress Bull’s amazing armour configuration was the result of an evolutionary arms race between the local herbivores and carnivores. Practically invincible, it became the most successful mammal in the area and reproduced in great numbers.
However, as its habitat shifted towards a warmer climate the watering holes began to dry up. The bull’s heavy armour made it impossible travel the distance, to seek out new places to drink. Slowly but surly the Fortress Bull was wiped out.http://img161.echo.cx/img161/6498/fortressbull1or.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------ChaoticKnight:
concept: The armored wolf became extinct because of one of its greatest assets. The bone growth that gave it its armored appearance was harder than most bone, became a luxury to the high class of the 1700s in Europe, and were hunted and poached to extinction. These amazing creatures were never recorded in documentation. The creature could not hope to protect itself against human weapons such as guns, which echo too much and distressed its hearing.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6.../wolffinal.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------bluefooted:
concept: Owen's gazelle (Gazelli oweni), also called the 'crown of thorns' gazelle is sadly now extinct. The elaborate horns of the male, apparently the target of female choice during mating displays, are a well-known example of a 'runaway' process of sexual selection gone awry. Male horns were grown continuously throughout the adult's life, often leading to severe limitations in the animal's ability to feed, bend the neck, and escape from predators. Researchers speculate that it was a combination of predation and premature death of males caused by excessive horn material that led to a precipitous population decline and, ultimately, extinction.http://www.angelfire.com/art2/bluefo...s/antelope.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------fanboy:
concept: This creature is called the Atlantic Ironshell. The shell is composed of Iron and Nickel, as well as calcium and the usual shell stuff. It used the magnetic field the metallic shell generated to sense the electrical signals generated by muscle contractions to sense prey and foes. The two factors that spelled the end for this fascinating creature are
1. Fluctuations in the planets magnetic field caused some major problems. They could have been over come except...
2. The shell was just too damn heavy. As you can see, it used claws on the main tentacles to drag itself. However, this requires a lot of energy, and they couldn’t live just on the rocks used for the shell alone.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...cIronshell.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------shadoman:
concept: Crannossa Skelpta
The Crannossa Skelpta is a reptilian-like creature that walked the earth thousands and thousands of years ago. An adult male stood about 12 feet tall when fully extended. It was almost completely blind, so it needed to use its excellent sense of smell to find its only source of food—the berries of the kurja shrubs. After it caught wind of a freshly bloomed shrub, it used its 4 arms to tear at the berries—2 held the branches, while the other two ripped the berries into it's mouth.
The one thing about this rare plant was its defense mechanism, which was completely unknown to the Crannossa Skelpta. The kurja flowers omit an odorless gas when plucked. This gas is extremely acidic and when inhaled can cause tissue to burn and die.
Over thousands of years of the Crannossa Skelpta nipping at their food the vapors eventually hardened the nasal passages of the creature to withstand the fumes. But over time this had an adverse effect as it continued to limit their keen sense of smell and finally blocked their scent glands all together. With their almost non-existent eyesight, they were unable to find food and shortly fell into extinction due to starvation.
The last remaining Crannossa Skelpta fossils have been dated back to roughly 8328 B.C. somewhere in the desert lands of Utah.http://www.shawnadomanis.com/images/cow/COW16.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------leckronium:
concept: Black Loodig Tree Sprout
Tree Sprouts are thought to be a near extinct species that live deep in forests and jungle type areas. Hard to spot, these creatures have evolved over time and adapted to life by growing plant material throughout their bodies. At first, it was used as camouflage but later became dependent on the plant, often being the Black Loodig Forest Vine, feeding from the nutrients it produced.
Once man evolved and started to clear forests, the tree sprout began to lose its cover. Spending more time out in the open exposed the vine to an abundance of sun which caused the vine to wither and eventually die. The Black Loodig Vine requires shade to be able to grow properly. With the death of its camouflage and lack of habitat, the tree sprouts have been rapidly dying off. The few that remain are considered prized trophies for skilled hunters who still believe they exist. Sightings have been reported but often debunked when it is realized what was seen was just a log.http://home.comcast.net/~leckronium/...ecreature2.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------Digisaur:
concept: Rutilisolis africanus "Savannah Sunbird"
Likely the last of an ancient line of flightless birds, possibly related to the Dodo of Mauritius. This species was native to the savannahs and scrub of Africa. The “Sunbird” got its name from one of the most spectacular mating displays in the animal kingdom. Once it reached maturity the male’s feathers took on the color and sheen of solid gold. When trying to attract a mate, it pranced about in a small clearing among the dull dried grasses. This usually took place in the midday sun, dazzling the females with a brilliant lightshow. The native peoples were equally amazed and considered it a sign of good fortune. Unfortunately for the Sunbird, its display was like a beacon to every curious land and air predator for miles in every direction. They were not terribly smart or fast on their feet, so most did not survive their first dance.http://digisaur.net/forum/goldbird.jpg
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------deschamps:
concept: Papiomyrmecophaga tridactyla
Known as the Masters of Magnetism or the Papiots.
The Papiots would fish for organisms in murky cavern waterways using their specialized eye to bounce magnetic waves off the riverbed. Propped up on all four arms with their head in the river, they would comb their serrated snout along the bottom to catch their meals. These creatures originally boasted a balanced diet of many different river organisms. One plentiful plankton-like organism was their favorite seeing that they were magnetically charged making them extremely easy to spot and catch. Eventually they began to focus their attention solely on these magnetically charged organisms as they discovered a hearty diet of these organisms tremendously boosted their control over magnetic waves throughout their bodies. Their snout evolved to accommodate fishing for these organisms and lost the ability to feed on other organisms. This led to their demise.http://www.ericdeschamps.com/ill/img...tismMaster.jpg
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June 7th, 2005

Fozzybar

Carnifex:
concept:The bone horse
This particular species of hourse carried the camouflage idea of zebras further and developed one to look like a dead horse. During evolution it's legs devolved from not running away though, so if discovered as alive(which happened rather often due to scavengers) it couldn't get away. Some extreme examples also note the legs simply getting too weak to carry the body and as the bone horse lives in rather dry grassland it simply died from the heat. These days it's extinct due to those circumstances.http://www.renderosity.com/photos/Ar...ticle11878.jpg

June 7th, 2005

Fozzybar

OK - before voting/posting read this!!!

1. Please give c&c or a reason why you voted for the image!

2. Feel free to comment on any or all entries, the artists will appreciate it!

Note:not accepted entries:
DaRobertz, Tetsuo: You can do better - especially when you have 7 days to finish an entry!

June 7th, 2005

DaRobertz

Ehm, i did enter but my entry isn't in the poll. Could this by fixed or did i do something wrong?

June 7th, 2005

Fozzybar

Read the note in my post above...

June 7th, 2005

Carnifex

voting for andrewley again,concept seems plausible and the pic is beautiful.
followed by bluefooted's.
deschamps-i actually liked the fishing one better than the final entry.
bluemech-you should have put a scales texture on it.

June 7th, 2005

PHATandy

Des Champs

nice idea, makes pretty good sense and lots of orginality in the creature and painting. Maybe a better story... cus they cant really cye out just cus they only eat one type of organism?? maybe.

Good work though.

Like Bluemech's and Andrew Leys ideas aswell. Good work all

June 7th, 2005

deschamps

PHATandy: thanks.
If that organism dies off or dwindles in number they die... thats what I was eluding to. Doesn't need to be spelled out.

June 7th, 2005

ChaoticKnight

AndrewLey

Ok I have to give this guy my vote. I have not yet figured out how to create those kind of works that look beautiful but were probably simplistic and easy to make, and obviously require an experienced hand to project the full vision.
But then again, I'm here to learn and get better.

young paddy1 : I love the idea and the colors, but maybe a little more work into the realism of the actual creature would have made it even better?

Also, good job leckronium and deschamps !!

June 7th, 2005

palal

my vote went to bluefooted. The most original one:)

2 place- Andrew Ley or MIKECORRIERO for the skills

June 7th, 2005

Digisaur

I gotta give my vote to bluefooted for making me spit soda through my nose in laughter when I first saw that gazelle. That afro of antlers is just hysterical. :teeth:
I also really love the watercolor painting look to the rendering. It really looks like artwork from a storybook or field guide. Great idea and great painting. Good work!

June 7th, 2005

AndrewLey

Voted for MIKE because his concept was solid and I liked the way it was presented.

I voted for AndrewLey because to me, his concept is the most realistic. An evolutionary arms race is a fascinating circumstance, and having an animal that died out from being too well armored is neat twist. The blurriness of the piece to me could be the fact that this animal is extinct and we’ll never know what it looks like, or a sand storm.
I also like hallo’s creature and Digisaur’s bird. Remarkable creature designs and distinctive concepts.
Excellent work by all, great job!
I didn’t vote for mine because it’s a better SNES sprite than a realistic concept. Anyone got any Photoshop advice? Ah, well. Bring on next week!

June 7th, 2005

redehlert

As usual, some very creative and inspiring entries from concept copy to actual concept image. I had several that I enjoyed but I latched onto one right away and was never swayed.Bluefooted, you have my humble vote. Damn...I do enjoy your work.

Cheers,
D

June 7th, 2005

glikster

wow... some more great entries.
I ended up voting for Shadoman because, despite the fact that I felt the coloring could have used some work, I believe he had the most solid take on the topic.

June 7th, 2005

look

This is hard to pick. So many great entries.
I really dig the design of hallo's creature and the coloring is really nice. And AndrewLey's work is just outstanding as always. BlueMech has a really fun concept going on there. And the art of shadoman, leckronium, Digisaur and deschcamps are too good to let go. >.<

After the long debate and struggling, I decide to cast my vote for bluefooted. I just love the horns, and the coloring. and it seems to be a very realistic creature too. And the reason for its extinction makes perfect sense.

June 7th, 2005

bluefooted

Some nice creatures this time around! Thanks for the nice comments on my silly entry :rendered:

Bluemech: I laughed out loud when I saw your creature :bashful: Nice idea. Wish there was just a bit more time spent on the art.

MikeCorriero: Really nice depiction and a tragic story. Like the cut aways of the weak bones.

Andrew Ley: Wonderful atmosphere: you can actually feel the weight pressing down on the bull, and the dry, desolate wind blowing.

Shadoman: A nice pic with an interesting background - the rendering on the creature is nice - but your description doesn't really describe an evolutionary dead end - as a biologist, I can't let that go ;)

My vote went to Digisaur: That bird is just so well-colored and the vacant expression on his face is great. Love the description as well. Good job!

June 7th, 2005

Wishes

voted for bluefooted, because the style is cool and the concept was also nice :)

June 7th, 2005

Sapphire

I had to vote for deschamps this time around. The rendering is beautiful and the creature is unique; I saw of very earthly creatures this time around, and his was definitely out there. That eye is really intriguing, and looks almost more like a mirror or a gemstone... love it.

June 7th, 2005

Eriboss

some nice entries this week, MikeCorriero: Nice well thought out design, nicely illustratedAndrewLey: you get my vote this week, although one thing bugs me.. the fact that they "reproduced in great numbers" ? I'm pressuming that the female Fortress Bull doesn't have quite the same armour on her back ? cause I would think that the race could die out from the guys trying to mount them ! ;)

June 7th, 2005

Johann de Venecia

Andrew: That's a very handsome beast. The rendering looks loose but not at all rushed.The damp, heavy feel of the atmosphere is handled well. The topic is easily evident in the design, no explanation needed. You got my vote! :cheerleader:

Kudos to everyone who participated too! Some really nice ones.

June 7th, 2005

0kelvin

Man, I'm kicking myself for not finishing anything again. I had an idea, but when I went to do it I realised it was just going to look like a regular cow. So I went back to the drawing board and tried to come up with something better but never did.

I voted for AndrewLey. It's a great design executed very well, and it fit the theme wonderfully.

Bluefooted and deschamps both had great pieces as well.

0kelvin

June 8th, 2005

brokk

Voted for AndewLey, because the concept is really cool, and the image looks great. No crits here.

Great tonal composition by the way!

June 9th, 2005

leckronium

Well, with COW 16 comes dilemma 16....who to vote for. I narrowed it down to Bluefooted and AndrewLey. I wish I could vote for both but I guess I'll just have to choose.

Bluefooted - I like your style of drawing. It's very loose and full of character. Your painting style only supports your drawing ability and together make really nice illustrations to look at. Your concept is great and I laugh when I look at the expression of the creatures face. My only wish is that the creature be modified a little more to look less like a gazelle or deer. Even if it is as subtle as extending the snout or changing the color of the creature to something unique. I'm guilty of the exact same thing in my creatures and have been trying to steer away from it as hard as it may be.

AndrewLey - I liked the concept of this alot. It was unique and believable enough to make it realistic. The execution was nice and you managed to keep the feeling of a bull yet present something that was not-so-recognizable to the eye.

So because this is a concept contest first then technique second, I'm gonna have to go with AndrewLey. Great effort on everybodys part and now on to the next round... :^^:

June 9th, 2005

duddlebug

Voted for ANdrewLey...

I love the idea behind the fortress bull and the execution was spot on. The stance looked like he was working hard to hold up the weight of all his armour. And the story about the warmer climate and lack of water was well thought out.

The other contenders for me this week were shadoman and leckronium.

June 9th, 2005

shadoman

Glikster, look, bluefooted, duddlebug, and anyone who gave me a vote - thanks.

I was not happy with my entry at all. I also know that I need to work heavily on landscapes/environments — they are definitely one of my weakest points.

AndrewLey got my vote this week. A very kickass concept and well executed. The fast swashes of color and blurriness of the edges really drew me to it artistically, plus it is a really cool looking creature.

No time for more crits, but Deschamps and leckronium got my 2nd and 3rd favs.

June 10th, 2005

ambidextros

Voted for
BLUE FOOTED

just cause i love that style of art and i though the premis was totaly rad.